Drowning
by Awesomelock
Summary: Merlin drowns, Arthur rescues him. Fluff -u-


EDIT- Minor changes, just thought I'd say hi :D

A/N- My first Merlin fic, written as depressed slop after getting rubbish results in my English exam. That pretty much sums up what the quality of this is going to be. Thanks for reading :)

This is set between or during no particular episodes or anything ;) No slash per se, just mild hints :D Sorry for any mistakes.

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Chapter 1 (of a possible 1)

The moon licked at Merlin's face as he rolled over slowly, rearranging himself to get more comfy, wincing at the sharp pains in his back. Back pain is common when you've been travelling for many days with little rest and no bed.

Arthur lay a little way away from him, sleeping soundly. Merlin's eyes flicked open, staring straight up towards the soft protection of the trees, shielding him from very little but small amounts of light, that he must admit, left pretty shadows.

The warlock sat up, stretching his aching joints before shuffling backwards to lean against a tree. The fire had long since gone out, leaving the occasional hot ember to die against the cold air. He sighed and watched as his breath came out like smoke, like he'd breathed fire.

He wished.

He stood up, ignoring as his bones creaked in protest- his leg was cramping and he wanted to stretch his legs; he'd be damned if he couldn't walk about. He took silent steps forwards, creeping towards the small river that they'd camped next to.

He sat down slowly, careful not to make a noise, to break the almost painful silence. He stared unseeingly into the reflective surface of the water- his thoughts not centring on anything, his brain too tired to think. He opened his mouth before closing it again, finally noticing the horrible taste in his mouth.

Merlin tried to think back to the last thing he ate, but when the memory came up of the steaming mush that he had eaten the previous morning he wished he hadn't remembered at all. He lied backwards, suddenly feeling very tired again.

The trees grew darker, blocking out more and more light until there was only a faint glow of grey, before total darkness, then nothing.

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Arthur woke with a start, something was wrong, he decided, as he reached for his sword. He immediately noticed that something was missing- but what? He was still wearing everything, he was where he went to sleep, his sword was in his hand, he wasn't missing any body parts and Merlin was right-

Oh.

The king was immediately on his feet, scanning the knights that lay at his feet- searching for Merlin amongst them, but to no avail. The odd snore, that was all.

He could see no enemies or threats, and could hear no other movement, nor feel, taste, or smell an enemy. He would be quite concerned if he could feel, taste or smell the enemy. He shook his tired head, he had to stay focused- where was Merlin?

He tried to keep a particularly horrible thought from entering his head, but with the threat of Morgana and other enemies, he could never be sure.

He scanned the area again, and upon seeing nothing decided to move to wake the other knights. He could send them out to look for Merlin. Despite common belief, he did quite like his Man servant. What was he kidding? Merlin was his best friend.

But then he heard a splash from the river- probably a bird or a fish, but then again, it was quite loud, and what sort of bird splats into the river at that time of night? Maybe an enemy trying a surprise attack?

Arthur rushed over, not able to deny his worry for his manservant, not able to tone it down- besides, it wasn't like anyone was around to see his shameless panicking. Actually, to be fair, he did feel like he was being quite reserved.

What were the chances that it would be anything important in the river? He nearly turned back around- he was looking for his friend, not investigating things that go bump in the night. But something made him continue towards the edge, until he was leaning on the bank, his feet sinking into the mud, black ooze being pushed up and caking its way around his shoes, water rushing in.

Merlin would be happy when he came to clean them, Arthur decided.

Something caught Arthur's eye. There was a weightless looking floating black mop, thrashing about under the water, until suddenly a huge splash, and said abnormality emerged from the water looking dangerously like hair. Too much like Merlin's hair, Arthur thought with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Arthur was no fool, but it doesn't take a fool to realize that it was Merlin surfacing from beneath the water, before his arms began to flail, and his legs began to kick, his head bobbing up and down, unaffected by his restless limbs, in and out the water.

Arthur stood in shock, surveying the scene in front of him. Merlin was drowning? He could hear the occasional wheeze and cough, but no clear words. Arthur was frozen, watching his best friend drown.

Suddenly, he was in action, wading in full speed. He didn't care that he couldn't swim, let alone save his best friends life, he couldn't stand there and do nothing. He'd rather- no. He'd best not think like that.

At this point, everyone else began to stir- their experienced brains dragging them from their sleep. Arthur guessed afterwards that he probably should have woken them before going in to help.

"Merlin!" He shouted, in a desperate attempt to calm his friend down. "Merlin…" He said again, this time more to himself, in shock at what he was witnessing. He noticed as he got deeper his armour seemed to weigh him down more and more until he knew that even if he could swim, he'd be too heavy to keep himself about the surface. He cursed beneath his breath.

Soon he found himself stood on his very tip toes, his mouth beneath the green, cloudy water- nearly there- so close, he could almost feel Merlin brush against his fingertips- the water was getting higher, brushing against the bottom of his nose. He couldn't breathe. And he did something very stupid. He jumped.

He jumped and had hold of Merlin by his sleeve, but Merlin didn't stop struggling though, he just grabbed onto Arthur, sealing both their fates. Arthur's panic increased as he realized that he hadn't held enough breath to keep himself going. Unlike Merlin, his head didn't go back above the water. He began to kick desperately at the water, moving very slightly back towards the bank, back into his depth.

But still, he couldn't reach the bottom; his legs searched in hope but disappointingly found nothing. As he looked up, towards the surface, he could see the almost bright light that fell onto the river, looking down he could see only a green shade of darkness.

His only hope was to continue to kick against the water, slowly, painfully slowly, did he move both himself and Merlin towards the edge. His lungs were burning, begging for oxygen. He began to feel light headed- but he was almost there! So close! He wasn't going to make it…

He kicked once more, summoning all his energy- he had to be able to reach the bottom by then! He felt with his feet, but found nothing. He breathed out, unable to hold in the oxygen any longer. This, he knew instantly, was another bad idea.

Again, he had just enough energy to do it once more, but still, nothing. His body suddenly forced him to breathe in sharply against his will- the water flooded his lungs. He was drowning. With blind panic he tried to breathe it all back out, but his body shook violently, causing him to breathe in more.

He almost accepted his fate- the rush at the moment he realized he was going to die. But then he was reminded of the weight clinging to his shoulder, and had strength once more- kicking violently at the water, moving and moving until he suddenly could reach the bottom; the soft muddy floor that he has honestly thought that both he and Merlin would come to rest on, still and lifeless.

His feet kicked down hardly on the soft mud below, his head bursting through the surface- relief flooding every thought.

He took a deep breath- his lungs coughing and wheezing as he went back under, this time kicking himself at an angle before dragging Merlin and himself above the water. He choked on the air as he pulled Merlin's dead weight towards solid ground.

Arthur realized that at some point, Merlin had stopped moving.

He collapsed back, half his body lying in the water, shaking and shivering with the cold, his body violently coughing and spluttering. Merlin lay next to him, unmoving, extremely pale, his clothes and hair weighed down by the weight of themselves.

Arthur could hear movement, probably the knights, his main concern being Merlin; he was more worried about him then his aching lungs, even if he was still struggling to breath.

"…'Erlin!" He croaked, his voice hoarse from having his lungs filled with water. "Merlin!" He said again, this time managing to say his name properly. His heart paused as he looked at Merlin's chest, waiting for it to rise and fall. He waited one second. Nothing.

Maybe he was just breathing slowly. 2 seconds. Nothing. 3, 4, 5, nothing. He felt like he was going to be sick.

"Merlin…" He whispered as he felt his eyes sting. He held back the tears- he was the King, for goodness sake. "Please Merlin." He said, but was never met with a reply, Merlin just lay there unmoving.

The knights had gathered, looking confused but solemnly down at Merlin, each probably thinking they were still stuck in dream world- never properly having woken up. Arthur vaguely registered them saying something, but he wasn't sure what.

"Merlin." He said again, stuck repeating a chorus of his best friend's name- perhaps it was insanity setting in. "Damn it Merlin!" He shouted; true anger ripping through his voice as his fist made contact with the closest thing, which happened to be Merlin.

Then something unexpected happened. It was a miracle, an act of God if you believe in him or her.

Merlin began to cough, spouts of water came out of his mouth- and he began to breath. His eyes flicked open and began to wearily focus. The first thing he saw was Arthur's worried face staring back at his. It took him a while to be able to make him out though, and his foggy brain took a moment to clear the confusion.

They'd both be embarrassed about it later, but at that moment, they both knew that it was all alright.

"Arthur…?" Merlin said in confusion.

"Shh… You idiot." Arthur said as he gently cradled Merlin's head. In any other circumstances, it would be awkward, the close contact that is, but it just wasn't, for some reason.

"Clotpole." Merlin retorted, a weak smile plastering its way across his face. Suddenly he grimaced; the knights and Arthur looked worried, giving him a questioning look. "Did you dance on my chest?"

"I should have done." Arthur replied. They both smiled before Merlin slowly sat up, minding the pain in his back and stood up, dragging his legs out of the river.

That was the last time they were camping next to water.

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A/N- That was probably OOC and boring- but it was the first Merlin thing I've ever written, so go easy Besides, I'm just kid, I can't be expected to get things right. Sorry for any mistakes :(

Thanks for reading :D Bye.


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